The 205th Regular Meeting: August 16, 2025

 Full of Energy!

Our 205th Regular Meeting was filled with energy. We had five prepared speeches for the first time in eight months, which also means that we had five evaluation speeches. Additionally, we had 10 Table Topics (impromptu) speeches.Topics of the prepared speeches vary from a self-introduction to the speaker's communication style to an introduction of Mongolian culture to an invitation to Kansai Osaka Expo to developments around a genocide in Rwanda. The first speaker, Ma-chan, made her debut with her Ice Breaker speech (the first speech a new member delivers to introduce themselves to the club). She tactfully organized her speech so the audience members easily understood what brought her to the Senri Toastmasters Club. 

The second speaker, Yasuko, talked about her communication style, referring to a glasses shop owner, "Gotou san," who has a similar style to hers, in a humorous presentation. The third speaker, Yuriko, introduced a Mongolian greeting and how Mongolian people enjoy summer by sharing her experience during her three-week trip to Mongolia. The fourth, Mune-san, shared his experience at the Kansai Osaka Expo, and tried to convince us that the expo is worth our visit. The last speaker, Hiko, delivered a well-researched, thought-provoking speech about a genocide in Rwanda and the developments afterward.Five evaluators discussed how the speeches could be improved after commending the speakers on things well done. The Best Evaluator Award winner, Anne, effectively demonstrated how Ma-chan could use her hand gestures to enhance her speech by using many examples from different parts of her speech. Giving demonstrations is always a great way to clearly communicate our suggestions. Another evaluator, Mariko, took a step further and did something unusual. She brought her speaker, Yuriko, to the stage and took her to different places on the stage to demonstrate how she could have used the width and depth of the stage to make her speech engaging.

Another thing that was unusual this time was that we listened to as many as ten Table Topics speeches. The Topicsmaster, Madelyn, presented the topics before calling on a participant to speak on each topic. In this way, she forced everyone to consider how to talk about these topics. This helped create an energetic atmosphere in the meeting, along with the summer-related topics she prepared and her efficient facilitation of the session. With five prepared speeches, five evaluation speeches, and 10 Table Topics speeches, the meeting was fully packed and lasted for two hours and a half, but it didn't feel that long thanks to the energy these speeches brought about. A great way to spend a hot summer day.

Tenten, General Evaluator